Photography

The only time I use manual focus is for macro photography.

I basically always focus manually

At night autofocus rarely finds the right focus and manual focus gives better results. Also for wildlife photography I have a lens that has a “manual override” option, meaning I can autofocus, but if it doesn’t focus on the point I want I can manually correct it. I’ve used that quite a bit, as sometimes the autofocus will go to a point in front of the animals, for example if they’re standing in deep grass. Being able to correct it without having to switch to manual is an awesome feature.

I use it for still life.

Manual for Astro photography mostly.

When my auto focus is trying to focus on the fence in front of me

A lot of my newer lenses I use for product and still life do not even have autofocus, but I wouldn’t really use autofocus for that stuff anyway.

Autofocus is good when needing to take a number of quick shots as it saves time and you’ll be able to snag a great shot. If you’re looking to be creative/artistic, then you could experiment with manual focusing. Either way, you’ll end up with a great capture.

The short answer is I use manual focus in circumstances where autofocus doesn't work.

This might include low-light scenes where the AF just fails (getting to be less and less of a problem as technology gets better though), super cluttered busy scenes where the camera keeps focusing on the wrong thing, macro work (especially if I plan on focus stacking), the occasional scene where I might pre-focus and wait for something fast-moving to cross the frame because the AF would be too slow to catch it. Probably other cases I'm not thinking of right now.

99% of the time. Yes autofocus is probably better but idk I just enjoy having full control over the photo. The viewer will probably not care in the slightest but it’s just for my fun

Birds in trees :)

depends on the cameras tech... AF mostly uses phase detection (contrast), and is attuned to vertical lines. So... AF REALLY struggles with low contrast and horizontal lines. Manual focus is a must. Higher end cameras can use a more active focussing system or 'cross type' sensors that gets rid of the 'horizontal line probelem.

Trap focussing.. eg shooting Formula 1, you want motion blur int he tires, maybe use the panning technique to blur the background a bit as well... you don't want active AF on lower end cameras, so you manually focus in advance and shoot the car as it passes.

times where the foreground insist on locking your AF, but you want to actually be focuses well past it.

many lenses focus past infinity. If you a re shooting something unusual and the camera struggles to focus, pulling it backa tad can produce sharper result.

Hyperfocal point - Google it for details, but it is the sweet spot of a lens that gives the maximum depth of field for a focal length/aperture combo. It is a 'virtual' point in space you need to set manually. eg an object at 1meter... I want everything to infinity as sharp as possible, so my perfect hyperfocal distance may be to focus... 1.3m. (many older lenses had markings on the lens for this)

Something often forgotten.. your focussing screen is not made for manual focus, it's why it is seemingly impossible, especially if your eyepiece is not set to the right diopter for your eye. This is where in a typical DSLR you would look to change the screen (if it has that option) to a split screen, which is a manual focus aid, not unlike a rangefinder.

Best diopter adjustment method btw... remove your lens in a cleanish environment, then adjust it using whatever markings are on the screen. That way it's more accurate and actualyl set to the screen. Doing it with the lens on is much harder

I'm old school (hence lots words to make a point lol), but gotta say.. AF has indeed come a long way and can be relied up mostly. Especially in midtier to high end cameras with extras AF points that have the cross-type sensors and can work under lower light and smaller apertures. That said.. a DSLR will never be able to focus as accurately as a decent rangefinder camera.. and it shows to a trained eye. This has been repeatedly demonstrated in bench tests too. Take a DSLR and fous on an object 3 or 4 x, then do it witht he rangefinder... the DSLR will vary each time (slightly), whereas the rangefinder will consistently give the same result (in trained hands)

I hope that diatribe helps

Really low light, astro and when there's distracting stuff in the way that confuses the autofocus. The latter happens mostly when shooting wildlife.

I feel like I SHOULD start using Manual focus when i photograph my friends band. The drummer is also a vocalist but as tends to be the case with drummers, he is stationary and more towards the back (when compared to the rest of the band).

I shoot with a D500 and love it! However, there's tons where I use Single Point Focus to focus on his face but after looking at the shots, some have the drum kit in front if him in focus and some have the wall behind him in focus (I shoot at 2.8 do it's a little noticeable when something other than his face is sharp)

Maybe it's a calibration thing but perhaps next time I just need to stay stationary for a song, manually focus on his face and get all my drummer shots in one song.

14mm on f/5.6 has hyperfocal (@1.2m) from around 0.7m, I hit dof preview, manual focus until infinity is sharp and never touch it again.

I build depth in my work. No autofocus is ever good enough to get me the focus I intend.

I use manual focus when:
Using a camera without auto focus
Using a lens without auto focus
When my camera won't auto focus on what I want as my subject

Autofocus tends to fail me in low contrast situations, like overcast skies. I often take an AF image first then again in manual to try to do better. FWIW, I am very much at the amateur end of the skills spectrum.

Depends on my camera.

Most of what I’m shooting, manual focus is the only option I have. On the occasion I’m shooting AF, about 10% of that time is tap-to-focus override, which to me counts as manual focus.

I shoot long exposure nightscapes/cityscapes on a tripod and manual focus using focus zoom to make sure everything is sharp

I use Manual focus when I have to. Like when I have a manual focus lens on my camera. Auto focus is faster and better than manual focus.

I was taking pictures of a jackal who was looking at me from inside a bunch of tall grass. I auto-focused on the grass, switched to manual, adjusted the focus to hit his eye, and took several shots while I leaned forward and backward to fix any small issues I had with the manual focus. It turned out pretty well, even if I do say so, myself.

Had a yongnuo. 35 for my 5d. The auto focus was trash so I only used manual. Loved that lens

I do a lot of zoo photography, so I use manual focus to blur through the enclosures. As an example, the attached photo of a squirrel monkey was taken through chain fencing.

https://preview.redd.it/kdqascgvwtzb1.jpeg?width=6000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7c503c905dfd0508c9604618b7461ed2627e50a

I use manual for focus stacking, timelapse and star/moon shots.

Basically every shot. Less than 5% of the photos I shoot are with AF, at a guess. I like having complete control over my image.

1. Using a manual lens
2. Shooting moving pictures, where certain styles include gentle searching of focus as part of the visual language (also focus pulling is an art unto itself, but I've no experience with it)

I'm mostly in the first category. Eventually you get to know a lens well enough you just hold the camera with one hand on the focus ring the whole time and you get there when you get there. Most of my pictures suck though :)

When autofocus decides I want to take photos of everything behind my subject.

I use old film era manual lenses really often.

With autofocus glass, I use manual focus and a single focus button when I'm sure that subject will not move that fast, and it's easier to fix the focus than to autofocus each time. Especially in commercial photography.

All the time -definitely not because my camera’s autofocus is broken- .Don’t get me wrong, it is pretty hard. Most especially through the viewfinder. Most of the time i was getting out of focus shots which ruins the whole photo but when i nail it, so satisfying.

Astrophotography. AF just doesn’t work great when it’s pitch black outside. Lol.

I upgraded from my a7II using only vintage lenses to a a7RIIIa with autofocus lenses. I’m not going to lie.. I sometimes really miss the tactile feeling of my vintage lenses and the joy of focusing myself haha.

I completely understand why people prefer AF, since it’s soo good these days. But I’ll happily keep using both depending on my mood and usecase.

Focus peeking and magnification makes focusing manually a breeze on mirrorless in my opinion.

For street photography manual is faster esp with vintage lenses that have hyperfocal marks. Or when I'm shooting film.

You can simply punch in with focus peaking to get it right. Though it won't work on DSLRs.

I shoot motorsports... lock focus on a kerb where the cars/bikes will pass.. switch to manual ...continuous shooting and panning as the car/bike takes the kerb *

i only use lenses that dont have AF options lol

I pair my GFX 100s with pentax 67 lenses

Shooting low light concerts

I do all the time cuz my MF ain't working :3 and NO you're not doing anything wrong it just comes with the experience i think (i mean manual focus thing) just don't overthink use whatever that gives the best outcome.

Manual focus is great for long exposure photography.

I use it in some wildlife situations.

There are eagles where I live. They eat the dead salmon in the rivers. I scope out a popular dead fish that is getting some attention. Then I set up my camera on a tripod. I set the focus to that an area of about 3 feel is in good focus. Then I turn it to manual focus. That way it does not change. Then I step back and use the remote anytime there is action I like in that 3 foot area.

I do a similar thing with flowers visited by hummingbirds. An area of about a foot is in focus. Step back and use the remote to clid when a bird is at the right angle inside that little area.

I am not using the rings on the lens to focus. I am just setting it to manual so it does not change.

Or, if I am taking a photo of a stationary thing, I will use manual to get the focal point on my subject. When the subject is moving, I need the above method.

I have an R5, and the manual focus is phenomenal on there. Weirdly though, I think I've only ever had to use it once. I was shooting with a model, and had hung plexiglass in front of her that had been hit with water from a spray bottle to simulate a wet window. The eye AF kept going straight to her, and even the point focus just went straight past the water droplets. Using manual focus, I could see exactly when the droplets were in focus because they were outlined bright red, making the shot easy as possible to capture. Slightly NSFW, here's the final image.

For macro.

Star photography. It's basically impossible to have Auto focus lock on to such a small point.

i use film a lot... so almost all the time.

Stitched panoramas, timelapse

Rarely need to, but mostly when the lens is having trouble or older manual lens. Usually for artistic shots mostly.

i use manual focus almost all time. but still need to learn a lot in photography.

Focus by wire is tricky, mechanical focus is a breeze. I use manual focus on myqnual lenses, autofocus usually with my modern lenses. But there are times when I manual focus my modern lenses. Night photography, Forrest shots, any time really when auto can get confused.

I have two old lenses that don't work with the camera auto focus, so about 2/3 of the time. Sometimes more, because one is a 50 mm and I've been having a lot of fun with it.

I used to shoot more film, and used cameras that I either had to guess to focus or the rangefinder wasn't working right, and a lot of those came out surprisingly sharp!

When I have a shitty camera